Bending device



9, 1966 J. L. HALL 3,264,859

BENDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jana: L. Hm?

Au 9, 1966 J. L. HALL 3,264,859

BENDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \Nvawroa W L HALL United States Patent 3,264,859 BENDING DEVICE James L. Hall, Leetonia, Uhio, assignor to Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation, Oakland, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 238,561 Claims. (Cl. 72-412) This invention relates to an apparatus for bending hanger tabs attached to refractory bricks. Among the various refractory bricks presently used in furnace constructions is one which is provided with a perforated hanger for suspension from hooks. One objection to hanger tabs on refractory bricks has been that the projection of the tab from the brick makes manufacture, shipping and storage of bricks difficult. As a result it has heretofore been necessary to mold the bricks with the tabs extending in unsatisfactory positions, or to embed the tabs in the bricks with subsequent difiiculties arising in dislodging them for hanging of the brick.

The present invention provides an apparatus which can expediently bend the hanger tab into a desired position flat against an end face of the refractory brick and which is adaptable for operation with existing equipment.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial isometric view of a refractory brick as molded with an internal U-shaped plate and a hanger tab secured to the U-shaped plate and extending upwardly;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of the invention showing a refractory brick in position to have the hanger tab acted upon by the apparatus in order to bend the hanger tab against the end surface of the refractory brick.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation view illustrating how the apparatus is actuated in one embodiment to cause the hanger tab to be bent to the desired position.

FIGURE 4 is a partial isometric view of the refractory brick shown in FIGURE 1 with the hanger tab bent flat against the end face of the refractory brick as desired for shipment and storage.

FIGURE 5 shows another embodiment of the hanger bender of this invention.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a re-positioned hanger tab in a further embodiment, as attached to an external, comolded U-plate disposed on a basic brick.

FIGURE 7 is a top view of the support means and a brick thereon showing one embodiment of a stop or holding means.

In the production of basic or nonacid bricks for use in furnace structures, especially for the roof and wall structures of high temperature metallurgical furnaces, it is frequently desirable to provide the brick with an external or an internal metal plate, or with both. Such plates are preferably of an oxidizable metal such as ferrous metal, e.g. iron or steel, or aluminum, nickel or the like. In one mode of operation, an exterior U- shaped metal plate is affixed to a premolded brick having shallow, discontinuous depressions in at least one side face thereof, by a method whereby a portion of the U-plate, especially at an edge of an arm, is depressed into engagement with the depression by means of a "Ice dimpling tool. The plate remains securely afiixed to the brick during subsequent handling and installation.

In another method of associating metal plating with a basic or nonacid brick, an internal plate such as a U- plate having a web narrower than the width of the formed brick, is comolded with a brick mass to form a dense brick. In this embodiment, the web of the U partially covers one side face of the brick.

When it is desired to suspend a metal plated brick, a metal hanger tab is also frequently incorporated, and it is in some embodiments an extension of the web of either the external or internal U-plate, or, in other embodiments, it is an extension of a unitary, comolded foursided casing or of a single comolded outer plate, or it can be welded or otherwise affixed to a single internal plate extending through the brick, e.g. in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the metal tab. Suitably, the hanger tab is provided with an aperture whereby it can be suspended in the furnace roof or wall structure in the known manner.

The invention is described below with particular reference to the bending of a tab affixed to an internal U- platewhich has been comolded in a basic brick as shown in the figures; and in another embodiment as alfixed to a comolded external U-case or channel plate on a basic brick. In the drawings, like numbers identify like elements.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is seen refractory brick 10 having a longitudinally extending internal U- shaped plate 12, pressed and molded into the refractory brick in the known manner. A hanger tab 14 is disposed at the end of the brick and is afiixed to the U- shaped plate, suitably by welding as at 13. The tab extends upwardly at an angle of from the side face or upper surface of the brick, as it comes from the press, on conveyor belt or support means 16. g

In FIGURE 2 the inventive apparatus is illustrated in position to bend the hanger tab against the end surface of the refractory brick. As can be seen, the apparatus comprises vertically movable reciprocating means 20 to which is attached the hanger bender means 22. The reciprocating means is operated in a conventional manner .and is controlled by a limit switch in the known way (not shown). Hanger bender means 22, as illustrated, is L-shaped with a first leg 28 of the L secured to the vertically movable reciprocating means 20, preferably by means of an axial shaft 24, which terminates in dimpler rod 4-0 extending through said leg of the L- shaped hanger bender 22. The second leg portion 26 of the L-shaped tool 22 is directed downwardly and is advantageously perpendicular to the first mentioned leg 28 of the L-shaped tool which is secured to the vertically movable reciprocating means 20. The downwardly directed leg portion 26 of the L-shaped tool is arranged to be a predetermined distance from the point of attachment to the reciprocating means 26 so that a downward motion of the reciprocating means would cause the downwardly directed leg portion 26 to bend hanger tab 14 substantially flat against the end surface 30 of refractory brick 10 when the refractory brick 10 is temporarily held in place in a relatively fixed position by stop means 32 shown schematically. In this embodiment, stop means 32 is a metal plate movable upwardly and downwardly in a diagonal path by means of hydraulic ram 31, shown schematically, whereby it stops brick in the downward position and after the hanger tab is bent against the end face of the brick, the plate moves upwardly clearing the brick and permitting it to travel forwardly on the moving support 16.

The second leg portion 26 is spaced from the. point of attachment of the first leg portion 28 to reciprocating means a distance slightly greater (up to about 1 greater) than the sum of the length from the reciprocating means 20 to the end surface 30 of a brick positioned under the reciprocating means and temporarily held in place by stop means 32 and the thickness of the, hanger tab 14. The L shaped tool 22 can be a single cast or forged member or portions 26 and 28 can be joined together in an L shape as shown in FIGURE 2. The reciprocating means 20 can be operated by any suitable means. For example, it may be hydraulically activated. Preferably, leg portion 26 terminates in a tapered or rounded face adapted to be in contact with the tab as it is bent, for a smoother bending operation. Preferably leg portion 26 is hardened at face 25.

FIGURE 2 also illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the hanger bender 22 is associated with a dimpling tool which imposes dimples or shallow depressions in an external U-shapecl plate to conform with preformed depressions in the brick and to securely fix the U-shaped plate to the brick and prevent the U-shaped plate from falling off the brick during handling and installation. The dimpling is performed by a dimpling tool 40, having a curved surface, striking the surface of refractory brick 10 during the downward vertical movement of reciprocating means 20. The dimpling or punching tool 40 depresses a U-shaped plate into a depression in the molded refractory brick 10. As can be seen, the dimpling tool 40 is operatively associated with reciprocating means 20 and extends downwardly below the lower surface 27 of the first leg portion 28 of L-shaped tool 22. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 2, the internal U-plate is provided with an aperture 15 over preformed depression 17 in brick 10. There may be two or more such apertures and depressions. As further described in the copending application of Reynolds et al., Ser. No. 696,771, filed November 15, 1957, now Patent No. 3,083,453, one or two external channel plates are placed over brick 10 so that their edges meet over depression 17 and the edges are deformed into depression 17 by means of dimpling device 40. For clarity, the external U-plate is not shown in this view.

FIGURE 3 is another view of the apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 2, but shows the L-shaped tool 22 after the hanger bender 22 has been actuated and tab 14 is bent against the end surface of refractory brick 10. It is also noted that while the tab is bent, dimpling tool simultaneously is pressed into depression 17 of brick 10, as described above with reference to dimpling an external plate thereinto.

In FIGURE 4 the refractory brick 10 is shown having the hanger tab 14 bent down against the end face of the refractory brick as desired for shipment and storage. The hanger tab is also represented in the extended position 14A, bent out as would be desired for installation.

As shown in FIGURE 5, hanger bender 22 having horizontal leg 28 and vertical leg 26 terminating in rounded rearward face 25 is also useful apart from the dimpling device. It is in this embodiment afiixed to vertically movable reciprocating means 20. Brick 29, having comolded external channel plate 18 afiixed thereto by struck-out tabs 19 embedded in the refractory mass during molding, is moved forward on support means 16. Tab 21 which is an extension of the web of channel plate 18 is in upward position and as the brick moves forward on 16, tab 21 is engaged by or comes into contact with leg 26 which is then moved downwardly by reciprocating means 20 as the brick moves forward until means 20 and leg 26 are at their lowermost position and leg 26 rests against outer face 33 of tab 21 which is pressed against end face 34 of brick 29 in the desired position.

In the operation of the invention, a refractory brick is moved into position beneath the vertically movable reciprocating means, and upon engagement with stop means, which maintain the brick in a temporarily fixed position, the hanger tab, initially extending upwardly at substantially a right angle to the brick, engages the lowermost portion of the L-shaped tool which is disposed in position above the brick. Upon engagement with the L-shaped tool, the hanger tab is displaced slightly out of the vertical plane of the end surface of the brick. In this way the hanger bender means, i.e., the L-shaped tool, can bend the hanger tab downward against the end surface of the brick upon downward movement of the vertically movable reciprocating means. The downwardly projecting leg portion of the L-shaped tool is so mounted with respect to the brick and the reciprocating means that it slightly clears the end surface of the brick in its downward movement and is spaced from the end surface of the brick a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the hanger tab. As indicated above, the apparatus can combine the functions of the dimpling device with means to bend the hanger tab into the desired position for shipment and storage. It is an advantage of this invention that the tab is bent downward and against the end face of the brick rapidly and without damage to the brick; and, further, that the tab can be bent to installation position with little effort and without damage to the brick.

It is apparent that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Having now described the invention,

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for metal encasing a refractory brick including a dimpling tool attached to a vertically movable reciprocating means to locally depress an edge of a metal casing into conformity with a shallow, discontinuous depression in a side face of said brick, an improvement for bending a metal hanger tab from an upwardly extending position downwardly to lie flat against the end surface of the brick, comprising stop means to temporarily hold said brick in a fixed position, an L-shaped tool having a first leg portion and a second leg portion, said first legportion of said L-shaped tool being attached to said reciprocating means with a second leg portion directed downwardly, said first leg portion being afi'ixed to said reciprocating means above said dimpling tool, said second leg portion of said L-shaped tool being disposed a predetermined distance from the point of attachment to said reciprocating means whereby said downwardly directed second leg portion of said L-shaped tool is spaced from the end of said brick by a distance slightly greater than the thickness of said tab in bent-down position when said brick is temporarily held in place by said stop means and said reciprocating means is lowered to its lowermost position.

2. In an apparatus for metal encasing a refractory brick including a downwardly projecting dimpling tool attached to a vertically moving reciprocal means to locally depress a metal casing to conform with a shallow, discontinuous depression in a side face of brick, an improvement for bending a metal hanger tab from an upwardly extending pos1tion downwardly to lie flat against the end surface of such brick, comprising in combination a conveying means to support said brick, stop means to temporarily hold said brick in a fixed position, an L-shaped tool having a first horizontal leg portion and a second leg portion extending downwardly perpendicularly to said first-mentioned leg portion, said first leg portion of said L-shaped tool being attached to said reciprocating means above said dimpling tool, said second leg portion of said Lshaped tool extending downwardly a predetermined distance from said downwardly projecting dimpling tool whereby said downwardly directed second leg portion of said L-shaped tool is spaced is movable upwardly and downwardly in a diagonal direction toward the forward end face of said brick.

References Cited by the Examiner 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,581,105 4/1926 DIncognito. 2,700,407 1/ 1955 Trirnble 15 32 3,049,165 8/1962 Leeper 72--3 16 10 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

R. I. HERBST, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR METAL ENCASING A REFRACTORY BRICK INCLUDING A DIMPLING TOOL ATTACHED TO A VERTICALLY MOVABLE RECIPROCATING MEANS TO LOCALLY DEPRESS AN EDGE OF A METAL CAUSING INTO CONFORMITY WITH A SHALLOW, DISCONTINUOUS DEPRESSION IN A SIDE FACE OF SAID BRICK, AN IMPROVEMENT FOR BENDING A METAL HANGER TAB FROM AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING POSITION DOWNWARDLY TO LIE FLAT AGAINST THE END SURFACE OF THE BRICK, COMPRISING STOP MEANS TO TEMPORARILY HOLD SAID BRICK IN A FIXED POSITION, AN L-SHAPED TOOL HAVING A FIRST LEG PORTION AND A SECOND LEG PORTION, SAID FIRST LEG PORTION OF SAID L-SHAPED TOOL BEING ATTACHED TO SAID RECIPROCATING MEANS WITH A SECOND LEG PORTION DIRECTED DOWNWARDLY, SAID FIRST LEG PORTION BEING AFFIXED TO SAID RECIPROCATING MEANS ABOVE SAID DIMPLING TOOL, SAID SECOND LEG PORTION OF SAID L-SHAPED TOOL BEING DISPOSED A PRE- 